Urgent - Letting Agent Withholding Rent From Landlord

Xander74

Thank you for your comments G_M.

This has all turned into an awful mess. The lender is not aware we are renting the property, and to be honest I wasn't actually aware that we had to inform them of this. This was our first house and we were both in our 20s when we bought it. I'll admit to not doing as much homework as I should have done. I had asked my ex to get the post re-directed, but obviously he did not do this.

The tenant moved in at the beginning of December, so has only been in there a couple of months. I know that we have to give the agent two months notice, so I will sort that part out on Monday, and then do as you say and ask the tenant to pay the rent directly to us.

My main concern now is the lack of consent with regard to the mortgage lender. My ex has moved away, so he no longer wishes to live in the property, and with my current financial responsibilities I would be unable to move back in until next year. (It is my intention however to do so.) The property is also in negative equity so we are unable to sell.

The letting agent is now threatening to contact our lender and inform them that the property is being let. I don't know what to do for the best here.

I absolutely realise this is a problem of our own making, I just have no idea how to put it all right, without losing the house.

Xander74

theartfullodger wrote: »

And if you are that desperate for rental money you are in the wrong job (being a landlord..). Sounds like you'll have to declare yourself bankrupt (:? negative equity??) and start again with a clean sheet (and the rest of us pick up the shortfall...)

Cheers!!

This is not my job. I ended up in this position due to the breakup of a 7 year relationship, it was certainly never my intention to become a landlord!!

RAS

Hi

Any half decent letting agent would have ensured that you had permission from the mortgage company before taking on the property. So you know what you have got.

You need to start saving all communications with the LA. There is at least one app you can download to record your calls.

I am sorry but I suspect that knowing that you do not have permission has encouraged this toad to take on the tenancy himself knowing that he has you over a bit of a barrel.

Ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement before you go any further. Send an e-mail and then two letter first class with certificates of posting from two post offices.

RAS

Xander74 wrote: »

This is not my job. I ended up in this position due to the breakup of a 7 year relationship, it was certainly never my intention to become a landlord!!

That is the problem with accidental landlords; you do have a job with very clearly defined legal responsibilities. Just you do not understand them. You need to - fast.

What deposit was taken and with whom is it registered?

Do you have a gas safety certificate?

Do you have landlord's insurance?

And you are going to have to tell your mortgage provider.

theartfullodger

Xander74 wrote: »

This is not my job. I ended up in this position due to the breakup of a 7 year relationship, it was certainly never my intention to become a landlord!!

Err.. it is your job: You are a Landlord!! Take it seriously and do it properly before it costs you even more (in both £££ and emotional pain... ) - but I 'umbly suggest, get out of being a LL. Currently the agent & tenant are running rings round you BECAUSE you aren't treating it seriously as a job...

Sorry about the breakup: It happens [said artful, on his 3rd marriage...].. there'll be someone better along soon for you!

sonastin

Xander74 wrote: »

This is not my job. I ended up in this position due to the breakup of a 7 year relationship, it was certainly never my intention to become a landlord!!

What artful is trying to tell you, in his usual blunt fashion, is that you are running a business here. You might not have planned on going into the landlording business but unfortunately that is where you have ended up. Just because you didn't want it doesn't change the fact that you now have to be professional in running this business.

I fear that the agent was aware of your naivety and is definitely preying on your ignorance. Best bet is to educate yourself as fast as possible. This thread is a good start but you've got lots of learning to do now, unless you want to take the "easy" way out and give up on the house.

There are loads of threads on this forum which offer advice to accidental landlords. Start reading these and follow up on all the links to understand the mess you find yourself in. Knowledge is your most important weapon now.

BobQ

Personally I would inform the police that the letting agent has illegally opened your post unless you have given them permission to do so.

Xander74

sonastin wrote: »

What artful is trying to tell you, in his usual blunt fashion, is that you are running a business here. You might not have planned on going into the landlording business but unfortunately that is where you have ended up. Just because you didn't want it doesn't change the fact that you now have to be professional in running this business.

I fear that the agent was aware of your naivety and is definitely preying on your ignorance. Best bet is to educate yourself as fast as possible. This thread is a good start but you've got lots of learning to do now, unless you want to take the "easy" way out and give up on the house.

There are loads of threads on this forum which offer advice to accidental landlords. Start reading these and follow up on all the links to understand the mess you find yourself in. Knowledge is your most important weapon now.

Thank you. I do realise that I AM a landlord, whether I like it or not, and that whether I wanted it or not, that is how it is. It was never my intention to "take the easy way out" - if it was I would have given up on the whole thing as soon as the relationship failed. All I wanted to do was keep paying the mortgage until I was in a position to move back in, and begin paying it myself again. I most certainly was naive, and I have held my hands up to that, all I want to do is put things right before it is too late.

Thank you for suggesting the accidental landlord threads, I shall get reading.

RAS

BobQ wrote: »

Personally I would inform the police that the letting agent has illegally opened your post unless you have given them permission to do so.

As a general rule that bit of advice is nonsense because it is not illegal to open post that has been delivered to the house; the illegality is in intercepting it prior to deleivery and using it for your own financial advantage.

In this instance however, it could be argued that the LA is taking financial advantage of the information her obtained by opening the post.

But the OP has a lot more pressing things to do.

BobQ

Xander74 wrote: »

Thank you for your comments G_M.

This has all turned into an awful mess. The lender is not aware we are renting the property, and to be honest I wasn't actually aware that we had to inform them of this.

The tenant moved in at the beginning of December, so has only been in there a couple of months.

My main concern now is the lack of consent with regard to the mortgage lender. ......................The property is also in negative equity so we are unable to sell.

The letting agent is now threatening to contact our lender and inform them that the property is being let. I don't know what to do for the best here.

I absolutely realise this is a problem of our own making, I just have no idea how to put it all right, without losing the house.

As you say this is your fault and ignorance is no excuse. Your immediate concern is that the lender may ask for repayment of the mortgage in full (negative equity may make them hold off on this for a while). You should also be aware that the lender could increase the mortgage rate to reflect the fact you are running a business.

I would contact them asap, explain what you have done and apologise abjectly.

Be aware that they would probably not have given you permission to let if you had asked given your financial situation.